Volume 2 | Issue 1

The Reading Room a journal of special collections Volume 2, Issue 1 Volume 2, Issue 1 The Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections is a scholarly journal committed to providing current research and relevant discussion of practices in a special collections library setting. The Reading Room seeks submissions from practitioners and students involved with working in special collections in museums, historical societies, corporate environments, public libraries and academic libraries. Topics may include exhibits, outreach, mentorship, donor relations, teaching, reference, technical and metadata skills, social media, “Lone Arrangers”, management and digital humanities. The journal features single-blind, peer-reviewed research articles and case studies related to all aspects of current special collections work. Journal credits Editors-in-Chief: Molly Poremski, Amy Vilz and Marie Elia Designer: Kristopher Miller Authors: Peterson Brink, Mary Ellen Ducey, Elizabeth Lorang, Erica Brown, Sarah M. Allison, Wendy Pflug, and Madeline Veitch. Cover photo: View of the Booth Family Center for Special Collections and The Paul F. Betz Reading Room at Georgetown University Library. Architects: Bowie Gridley, Construction: Manhattan Construction. Image courtesy of Bowie Gridley Architects and Georgetown University Library. University Archives University at Buffalo 420 Capen Hall Buffalo, NY, 14260 (716) 645-7750 [email protected] © 2016 The Reading Room, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York All rights reserved. ISSN: 2375-6101 Editors Note Dear Readers, Welcome to the third issue of Te Reading Room: A Journal of Special Collections! Our many thanks for your support and enthusiasm to provide an open access and scholarly forum for all those working in, or with, special collections. In this issue, we’re pleased to bring you fve case studies that focus on recent projects completed in special collections environments that explore current challenges and issues facing our profession. As with all successful case studies, the experience of the authors presented here is extensible, from engagement with our stakeholders in collection development and management to how we train and apprentice the next generation of special collections librarians: » Peterson Brink, Mary Ellen Ducey and Elizabeth Lorang of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln discuss the responsibilities and ethical implications of placing a historically signifcant, yet highly controversial campus humor magazine from the early part of the 20th century online. » Erica Brown presents her work at Shefeld Hallam University (UK) where she engaged the public in the creating an archive of popular and “middlebrow” fction published between 1900 and 1950. » Sarah M. Allison discusses the development and implications of a student employee training program at the University of California, Riverside Librar- ies Special Collections & Archives Department. » Wendy Pfug explores using surveys for assessment in uncovering back- logged, hidden archive and special collections materials. » Madeline Veitch shares her process of creating a zine library at the State University of New York at New Paltz, including her collaboration with students in the description, collection development, and outreach of the newly-formed collection. As we continue to receive submissions, we are excited to see the innovation and leadership displayed by those working in special collections. Faculty, staf, and students in this feld share responsibility for all areas of operations in their department, which, while challenging, provides a unique viewpoint and opportunity in engaging users and testing new technologies. Tis issue represents this diversity of experience and perspective, and we hope subsequent issues continue to embody the range of work being done in special collections and connect practitioners with each other. Te editors wish to thank the almost 100 peer reviewers who generously contributed their expertise and time to this issue and the team at Scholastica and the UB Libraries, especially Kristopher Miller and Don Gramlich. We also extend our sincere thanks to all of the authors who submitted articles and to you, our readers. We are actively seeking partners and contributors at Te Reading Room, and we invite you to consider submitting an article or serving as a peer reviewer. Additionally, we are soliciting images, particularly of reading rooms, for our next cover. Images should be a minimum 300 dpi and 8” x 10” in size. Tis issue’s cover image features the Booth Family Center for Special Collections and Te Paul F. Betz Reading Room at Georgetown University Library. A special thank you to Katherine Tomas for sharing the photos of this newly constructed research facility. Questions and comments are always welcome. Please send all inquiries to [email protected]. Whether as an author, reviewer, researcher, or reader, we hope you enjoy this issue of Te Reading Room. In appreciation, Molly Poremski Amy Vilz Marie Elia Editor-in-chief Editor-in-chief Editor-in-chief Contents 7 The Case of the Awgwan: Considering Ethics of Digitization and Access for Archives Peterson Brink, Mary Ellen Ducey, and Elizabeth Lorang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 26 Building a Special Collection of Popular and Middlebrow Fiction, 1900-1950 Erica Brown, Sheffield Hallam University 38 Training the Next Generation: Best Practices in Student Training at the University of California, Riverside Libraries Sarah M. Allison, New Mexico State University 64 Assessing Archival Collections through Surveys Wendy Pflug, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum 83 Read a Zine, Then Make One, Then Catalog it: Creating a Zine Library at SUNY New Paltz Madeline Veitch, SUNY New Paltz The Case of the Awgwan: Considering Ethics of Digitization and Access for Archives Peterson Brink, Mary Ellen Ducey, and Elizabeth Lorang, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Author Note: Peterson Brink, Assistant Archivist, University Libraries, University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Mary Ellen Ducey, University Archivist, University Libraries, University of Nebraska–Lincoln; Elizabeth Lorang, Humanities Librarian, University Libraries, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Elizabeth Lorang, University Libraries, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 225D Love Library, Lincoln, NE 68588-4100. Contact: [email protected] 7 Abstract As members of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Libraries considered digitizing and presenting the campus humor magazine Awgwan online as part of eforts to chronicle the University’s history and invite study of these materials, questions emerged about the ethics and responsibility of placing the Awgwan online in a broadly accessible digital environment. Much of the magazine depended and traded upon negative and destructive depictions of women and people of color as a key part of its “humor.” What are our ethical obligations in treating such materials? Tis essay introduces and analyzes the Awgwan; considers the potential value in making the magazine broadly available electronically; and then explores some of the issues the magazine raises for practitioners in archives and special collections today, particularly as more institutions may consider placing similar materials from their collections online. Keywords: ethics, digitization, archives and special collections 8 The Case of the Awgwan: Considering Ethics of Digitization and Access for Archives Peterson Brink, Mary Ellen Ducey, and Elizabeth Lorang, University of Nebraska–Lincoln In November 1921, the Awgwan, the campus humor magazine of the University of Nebraska warned its readers, “Awgwan is under the eye of a censor. In case we are able we will try to get over 2.75% with a kick in it. Watch Awgwan.” Tis short message to readers of the magazine raises key issues related to the Awgwan in the early twentieth century. Censorship, or the threat of censorship and of suspension, was a concern for Awgwan staf throughout the 1920s. In fact, the magazine was suspended twice during the decade, and news of similar fates for other campus humor magazines was not uncommon in the Awgwan. Te warning also demonstrates the way in which the Awgwan traded on references to popular culture for its humor and cultural critique. In this case, the editors liken their own potential censorship to the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. Te 2.75% threshold indicated the maximum amount of alcohol that could legally be in a beverage at the time. Te Awgwan recognized that it faced a similar threshold: if it exceeded a certain measure of what was considered permissible, it faced restrictions. Te editors also expressed their motive to exceed the threshold, however, pushing the boundaries of what was allowed. Today, the Awgwan raises new “threshold” questions: As members of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Libraries considered digitizing and presenting the magazine online as part of eforts to chronicle the University’s history and invite study of these materials, questions emerged about the ethics and responsibility of placing the Awgwan online in a broadly accessible 9 digital environment. Much of the magazine depended and traded upon negative and destructive depictions of women and people of color as a key part of its “humor.” What are our ethical obligations in treating such materials? Tis essay introduces and analyzes the Awgwan; considers the potential value in making the magazine broadly available

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